About Bruxelles-Propreté Pro

Created in response to the need to improve the urban environment and the quality of life of the inhabitants of Brussels, the Agency Bruxelles-Propreté is a major institution in waste management and public cleanliness in Belgium.

Founded in 1990, it has since played a crucial role in the development and implementation of sustainable policies for waste management and the promotion of cleanliness in the Brussels-Capital Region. Since its creation, it has gradually expanded its range of services, integrated new technologies, and established sustainable partnerships to strengthen its positive impact on the environment, society, and the quality of its services.

As a para-regional type A organization, the Agency is today placed under the direct authority of the Minister of the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region in charge of Climate Transition, Environment, Energy, and Participatory Democracy.

Since taking office as Director General of the Agency in 2022, Mr. Frédéric Fontaine has brought a breath of fresh air to improve waste collection services and encourage all Brussels residents to sort waste in order to increase the recycling and reuse rate.

The establishment of a new management committee has strengthened the Agency’s missions and defined a common vision:

“Bruxelles-Propreté aims to become the public industrial operator of reference for the circular economy of waste in the Brussels region, to be an exemplary employer, and to guarantee, with every citizen, a resilient, healthy, and clean city.”

The Agency is now composed of two distinct entities:

1. The first dedicated to households with the website www.arp-gan.be, the email address info@arp-gan.be, the number 0800/981 81, and its white avatar.
   
   

2. The second dedicated to professionals who are clients of the Agency (small businesses, Horeca establishments, large companies, etc.) with the website www.pro.arp-gan.be, the email address pro@arp-gan.be, the number 0800/988 77, and its fuchsia avatar.

   

The identity of Brussels Cleanliness is embodied through a logo built around the following three main missions:

1. The collection and sorting at the source (Paper-cardboard, PMC, Glass, Food, Garden) of Brussels waste;
2. The recovery of waste in its own subsidiaries or via partners;
3. The cleaning of regional roads and wild waste in coordination with other cleanliness actors.
    

To build with you a more serene life in society.
 

To ensure that a healthier city through our work in waste collection and processing, cleaning and awarness-raising.
 

Respect

Respect is a basic value underlying all our interactions, whether they involve citizens, clients, partners, or colleagues. Respect creates a conducive environment for listening and sharing opinions. Neutrality and integrity are paramount, ensuring that everyone finds their place and feels considered equitably. Respect for others also involves respecting laws, procedures, budgets, deadlines, our commercial contracts, and all our commitments.

Solidarity

Solidarity takes a step further in the spirit of mutual aid that drives all our field professionals and central office staff. Everyone, respecting each other’s skills and responsibilities, works as a team to pursue common goals. It is also necessary to be in solidarity with all Brussels residents and our partners to ensure, with every citizen, a resilient, healthy, and clean city.

Responsibility

We support commitment and taking responsibility. Our management approach aims to give all employees a space for autonomy and initiative, supported by effective support services that foster the revelation of talents and the expression of potentials. We expect our management to take responsibility for their employees and clients/beneficiaries. Everyone is co-responsible for the organization’s success. We encourage taking responsibility at levels as close as possible to the beneficiaries of our services based on clearly defined objectives.

Individual and Organizational Excellence

Individual and organizational excellence aims to achieve a high level of performance over time by continuously strengthening and improving existing practices, reducing execution risks, particularly for staff, and controlling operating costs and our environmental impacts. The passion for the profession within our organization allows us to achieve increasingly high service levels, creating added value from the collected, picked up, sorted, and recycled waste resources, to the greatest satisfaction of households, businesses, the Region, and our employees themselves.
 

For many years, our Agency has been committed to an ISO certification process. ISO standards are international guidelines that define best practices in various fields. Obtaining an ISO certification involves a thorough evaluation by an independent body to ensure that the specified criteria are met.

Our commitment to maintaining ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications demonstrates:

1. Our constant desire to improve our processes;
2. Our commitment to providing quality service to citizens and our clients;
3. Our responsibility in the sustainable management of our activities;
4. Our commitment to ensuring regulatory compliance on an international scale for our clients.

ISO 9001 CERTIFICATION, A GUARANTEE OF QUALITY

ISO 9001 certification is an international standard that defines the requirements for a quality management system (QMS). Since 2004, Bruxelles-Propreté has acquired this certification, and from 2006, it has extended it to all its collection activities. This implies that it has implemented a structured system to oversee the quality of its processes and operations.

ISO 9001 certification aims to achieve several important objectives:

• Improving the quality of our products and services, as well as reducing errors, to increase the satisfaction of citizens and our clients;
   
• Focusing on understanding the needs and expectations of citizens and our clients. For example, some of our prospects and clients require their waste collector to be ISO certified;
   
• Implementing effective and consistent processes to ensure better management of operations and more efficient use of resources.

We are audited annually by an external body that ensures we continue to comply with ISO 9001 standards by continuously improving the quality of our processes and services, identifying improvement opportunities, and implementing concrete measures to achieve them.

ISO 14001 CERTIFICATION, AN ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENT

Since 2013, our Agency has been committed to complying with ISO 14001, an international standard for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and improving environmental management systems (EMS). We have obtained this certification for specific collections and its support processes. This certification attests that we have implemented a formal and structured environmental management system aimed at reducing the environmental impact of our activities and promoting sustainable practices.

Specifically, our objectives related to ISO 14001 certification are:

• Reducing the environmental impact of our activities through more efficient waste management for our clients, reducing energy and resource consumption, and preventing pollution;
   
• Ensuring our compliance with local, national, and international environmental regulations that apply to our activities.

Like ISO 9001, ISO 14001 is based on the principle of continuous improvement, which means we must constantly evaluate and improve our environmental practices.
 

AN EMPLOYER THAT MATTERS

Bruxelles-Propreté is today one of the leading employers of low-skilled labor in the Brussels-Capital Region. More than 80% of our employees are workers. Most of them are aged between 25 and 35 and have no diploma or were temporarily registered as job seekers before being hired.
 

PROFESSIONAL INTEGRATION PROGRAMMES

These programs allow many job seekers to access a profession:

• The “Article 60” agreement of the CPAS law provides for the employment by an employer, over a period of one year, of people receiving integration income to gain professional experience. The CPAS of Brussels City, Molenbeek, and Schaerbeek have concluded such an agreement with Bruxelles-Propeté. Each year, 30 people are thus employed.
   
• The Rosetta plan aims primarily to allow every young person under 26 to enter the labor market as quickly as possible after leaving school, for a job lasting one year. About 80 “Rosetta” are hired each year at Bruxelles-Propreté.
   
• The Gesco agreement targets long-term job seekers, often low-skilled, and helps them find permanent employment. The number of recruitments under this agreement varies from year to year.
   

RESPECT FOR THE WORKER

The arduousness of certain tasks has led Bruxelles Propreté to implement measures to reduce their impact on the health of its workers.

Specifically, medical and physical examinations condition hiring, transfer to less strenuous activity sectors is offered in case of incapacity to work. Reassignment to the cleaning service allows loaders over 55 years old to continue their careers within the company. Finally, early retirement offers older workers the opportunity to enjoy their pension after years of significant physical effort.